How Does Air Freight Service Work

Our present day living is driven by the need to communicate, to be informed and to send various items worldwide. And due to time constraint and the immediate necessity to transfer everything in the fastest mode of transportation available, the airline and cargo industry have devised ways of carrying cargoes while minimizing time incurred during the process.

Cargo shipment by air is now referred to as air freight service. Items shipped in this mode range anywhere from a couple of pounds to as much as 43,000 pounds. Therefore accommodating almost all items with a need for immediate shipment.

Parcels and express letters are typically the easiest to ship due to their relatively handy size and weight. For larger-sized items however, various methods of shipment may be required depending on the number of categories including:

§ The size and weight of the item
§ The duration (number of days) required for shipment
§ The type of item

There are four basic categories for shipments namely:

a. Household goods which cover items such as furniture and the likes.
b. Overnight express or express shipments that deliver personal and business items which are light and small in size. These often come in the packaging of the carrier or the service provider. They are usually delivered overnight or within a couple of days, depending on the choice of service the shipper requested.

Parcel delivery, on the other hand, covers those items that are typically boxed. The services vary and packaging may be provided by the company or if the shipper chooses, may be shipped on the box of their own.

The duration of delivery varies. Typically, this kind is delivered at the speed of 500 to 700 miles per day, providing it with a coast to coast travel time of around four days.

Beyond these types are the Less-than-Truckload-Freight (LTL) and ruckload Freight (TL) freights. These are the actual air freight services and obviously cover cargoes that need big-time shipments.

Items covered in this category often weigh 15,000 pounds to around 43,000 pounds and have lengths not exceeding 53 inches.

With each type of service level comes different prices. Parcel and express packages have a pretty simple system of pricing as compared with cargoes covered in the LTL and TL which have more complicated systems of pricing.

National Motor Freight Classification is the system of pricing that monitors and dictates what price must be given to each item depending on its loadability, density, mixability and a number of other factors.

Theoretically, fragile items require higher costs of shipment since they fall in the freight classes 125 to 500.

Denser items such as industrial machines and steel require lesser care yet take most of the weight and thus fall under the freight classes 50 to 85.

Generally, these freight classes have assigned prices for which the assigned class corresponds to the base rate given.

While most air freight service providers can be contacted directly, heavier cargoes require freight brokers for easier arrangements and for the facilitation of savings. Such brokers can be contacted through on-line marketplaces. They have the skill and information required for directly arranging shipments at much lower rates since they act as intermediaries between carriers and shippers.

It is good to remember that when shipping cargoes with any type of air freight service, you must know in all the terms and conditions included to ensure the safe and timely arrival of your goods.

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